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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Commercial businesses in Yellowknife may soon be able to safely trash hazardous waste without having to ship it south.

City councillors expressed support for building an industrial waste transfer facility, to act as a collection and sorting point for hazardous waste before shipping it south, in the Kam Lake area.

Here is a look at where the proposed Industrial Waste Transfer facility will be built, if approved. All residents in a 250-metre radius have canvassed for input on the proposed development. - Graphic courtesy of KBL Environmental

Yellowknife company KBL Environmental, a division of Kavanaugh Bros. Ltd., is proposing to build and manage the facility.

The company has already submitted an application to the territorial government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources - in the form of a three-inch binder, which includes plans for the facility from start to closure - and now must secure a development permit from council.

If approved, the hazardous waste transfer point would be the first of its kind in the territory.

"There isn't one (in the North). There needs to be one," said John Oldfield, owner of Kavanaugh Bros.

Currently, the best-case scenario is most people and businesses store hazardous waste in their garages and warehouses, he added.

"They know they shouldn't sit on it, they know they should get rid of it, they just don't know where to get rid of it," he said.

Oldfield added there would be no processing on site and the idea "is to move the waste out of there as quickly as possible."

Ninety per cent of the waste received at the proposed facility will include waste lubrication oils, glycol, gas and diesel, contaminated water, soil and snow, incinerator ash, batteries, construction debris, waste paints and solvents, Floor Dry absorbent used to absorb spills, and pads contaminated with hydrocarbons.

The remaining 10 per cent of the waste will include oxidizer, poisons and other corrosives.

There are also a number of safety features built into the building plan, like a six-inch curb all around the building, to protect against spills and to minimize spill effects if they do occur.

City councillor Bob Brooks said he was excited about the possible development.

"I congratulate you on this concept," said Brooks, who added the first in the North facility could present a significant economic development opportunity.

If approved and built, the facility would largely cater to commercial businesses and the North's mines, but Oldfield said he was open to holding hazardous waste collection days, similar to the ones the city currently runs, for everyday Yellowknifers.

Currently, the Yellowknife Solid Waste Management Facility does not accept commercial hazardous waste.